Archive for October, 2013

October is supurb in Southern Utah..and the weather here has been unseasonably warmer by almost 10 degrees. I dig it.
Let me show you why.
One reason is because our shop recently brought in an Ibis Mojo HDR 650B bikecycle.
Yes indeed…..its fantastic.
Kim took it out for its break in ride….see, even we do that.
And of course, I rocked it.
And after, I hung out with our outdoor shop cat….Chewey.
Doesn’t that look fun? It is….And do you know what is more fun….rocking Barrel Roll on your Sherwood Gibson/Ventana fabbed Tandem.
Say it with me….TANDEMONIUM!
In all honesty, the weather has been great…..looks like some snow up north….and this weekend is Frog Hollow!
We will be there Saturday and Sunday! Come on out!
Its sure to be a good time…..and do you know what else was a good time…the Homie Fall Fest.
alright, its back to work.

I read a few blogs.
Don’t much care for forums as the accuracy per sentence ratio is quite poor. One of the bloggers that I have respect for is Ben Serotta. He made me a bike in the 90′s. And rather than focus on his choices or directions of the past, I’d like to focus on the “today” of things. Please read his weblog entry HERE.
I could not agree more with Ben when he reminisced that the shop keeper picked out THE set of boots that would meet his needs.
Thats what you pay professionals for. You need your house wired, call an electrician….you need your baby delivered – go to an OBGYN.
You need to buy a DVD, use an online store.
Vinyl? I hope you have a shop in your town.
Shopping for a bicycle – please use the large sites with pretty pictures…..or better yet, use the manufacturers site.
When it comes time to plunk your hard earned money down….buy from somebody you trust….even if that person is NOT me.
Can’t afford to support a shop? Thats okay….just don’t tell me about your vacation to Costa Rica.

And it is with great pride that I’d like to share Richard Sachs comment on the blog….

Ben Serotta – don’t launch that second site mentioned in the text. Stay focused here (or there…). Own everything you do and keep it in one place, or not at all.

That was the cornerstone of my bike shop for the first 1/2 dozen years of its existence. Own everything – I had bike company after bike company saying “buy on terms”…..”we won’t invoice you ’till August”.
Did nothing for me. And actually year after year it seems every shop in Park City discounts their remaining inventory (so that would be 500 bikes for the town) in August so actually I have no incentive to join the shitty bike shop club. There is an old German saying that I had on my shop wall that was an old man giving advice to his son who had just inherited the business. “Remember that our shop owns two things outright – our reputation and our inventory.”
And 9 years into this brick and mortar adventure – we still own our reputation and 100% of our inventory.
Speaking of inventory, we have just placed orders for two demo bikes.
The Ibis Mojo HDR
And The Turner Czar
but ours will have orange ENVE stickers.

Lets get to other current events. In SW Utah, the Red Bull Rampage happened…..here is a shot from ‘The Sender’.
Impressive.
Also impressive was the 70ish and sunny weather.
As well as the team kit.
And most impressive of all…this from the Knolly crew post RBR.

What a show. And here are the details.
Outerbike =’s Moab in early October, and a chance for consumers to meet brands. Many bicycle vendors show up to demo bikes and many people come from out of state for a Utah mountain biking vacation. There are local (Bar M) trails and Western Spirit offers shuttles. It really is an excellent event. They cap demo people, and you can also just bring your own bike and enjoy the scene.
I can’t say it enough – if you are in Utah, Arizona or ColoRADo, you should attend this event. And if you live further away, you should still consider attending.
We arrived Thursday night to the Gonzo Inn and got ourselves ready for a chilly Friday. Dharma Wheels was inserted in the Kona booth because it is spacious, popular, and has lots of beer. We brought the Bon Scott Memorial Whiskey bar for moral support.
So the day was spent mostly trying to keep warm, but also explaining to customers both in state and out, the joys of Kona bike, and the other brands we carry.
It was too cold for me to ride, so at about 3pm, I announced that the whiskey bar was now “officially” open.
After plowing through a handle of Old Crow and a few cases of Colorado Strength beers, we adjourned to TJ’s abode for an impromptu game of Jenga organized by none other than Willy Warren.
The next day saw warmer temperatures and no fits of hail, and the booth was humming.
Capt Dave sent a youngster out that I immediately filled with THC gummy bears and mushrooms.
And after a brief ride around the Bar M trails, the drinking began……at 2.
I should now include the coolest photo taken on the ride….
And then we can get right back to the partying photos.
After the crowd dispersed, we got on to the Rad getting with a fat tire crit around the walkingway.
After many laps and drifting skids, we headed to town for a delicious dinner at Zak’s…..where some asshole drew a penis on the chalkboard.
See no evil, hear no evil.
Day three treated us to warm temperatures and a chance to see who had the largest hangover from both the Kona booth and a nice little party at Woodies….conveniently located 42 steps from our hotel room. I was not the big winner in this event as I had another day of meetings and sales appointments. I did get to tell a few bad jokes to Scot Nicol.
And as the sun began to fade, we moved the booth closer to the Yeti tent where we wound down the final hours of Outerbike with some good bike people.

All foolishness aside, those who attended Outerbike. Thank you. Those who made outerbike happen as organizers and vendors – thank you!
It was a pleasure to see people and meet people both in and out of the bicycle industry. It was wonderful to see cyclists from Utah and all over this country. Many of you who attended Outerbike shop at our shop – thank you for that and we look forward to being there for you for the next opportunity!